Prologue

Mathias liked to think he was a good man. He was definitely not in a good situation, but he was a good man. The problem was, he was a drifter. He didn't know his mother, or his father. He had no real siblings to point him in the right direction. There might have been a kingdom in his past, a life there for him. There could have been so much.

But this was the Land of the Cards. And like any drifter, with no one to keep you where you are, you will drift away. And drift, and drift, and drift.

You will drift until you're Nowhere. There are no maps marking it, no landmarks or guides.

But possibly worst of all, in Nowhere, there are no rules.

In Nowhere, there's dark magic.

In Nowhere, you were worse than alone.

Mathias, like all drifters do, ended up in Nowhere. He couldn't remember when, why or how, but he did.

And he lived there with the others, the lost brothers of Nowhere.

Berwald, Tino, Emil and Lukas, Matthew…

And Gilbert.

The others, they were good people. Good people in bad situations.

Berwald and Tino were forbidden to marry. They ran away together, and thus, began to drift.

Lukas had been noble, his father a Clubs Lord, but his father was killed by the Mad King, and Lukas ran, far away, and he drifted too.

No one knew Emil's story. Maybe, like Matthias, he didn't really have one to begin with.

Matthew had a story. Apparently it was pretty rough. But no one knew what that was, either.

Except for Gilbert.

Everyone in their band of lost brothers knew his story.

Gilbert's full name was Gilbert Beilshmidt. He's the only one of them who really knows their family name, the only one who really remembers what life was like before Nowhere happened.

Gilbert was the first-born son in this generation of the Beilshmidt family of Hearts. One of the three Royal families of Hearts, he would have been chosen to be King on his twentieth birthday.

But when he was born, that option was immediately ruled out. Gilbert welcomed the world with skin pale as snow, and hair like ice. His eyes were red, unnatural and cold.

Even in the world where magic and medicine work together, Gilbert was cast away, his brother to be King in his place. He was forced to drift, and drift, and drift, until he found Nowhere.

He was in good humor about it—he even said if he couldn't be King, he would just have to settle for a Joker.

But in his cold, red eyes, Mathias saw a thirst for revenge.

…

Once a week, Gilbert went… Somewhere. Back to the real world. Sometimes, they went with him. This time, he didn't ask.

And, Mathias followed him. Once he was past the dense, wet forest that they called home, it was clear to Mathias, as it always was when they went on these excursions, that Nowhere was a place of strange, dark magic. Because, the swamp in which their small, strange lodgings were in was not there when he looked back. Instead, he was standing in the middle of a bustling harbor.

The Spades Harbor.

He didn't know much about this Kingdom, didn't know if he had traveled here or was even born here, but he knew that Gilbert had no place being there. Him as well.

The people weren't even reacting to Gilbert's strange appearance. He must have been using the dark magic that obviously resulted in their home. Confused, Mathias followed behind the man, the Joker, and listened.

Which didn't result in anything, because Gilbert was listening as well.

For what, he didn't know. But he snuck up between noblemen in their family colors, and peasants in their rough garb, and listened to the chatter of the harbor.

He perked up at the conversation of two noble women, grinning like the madman Mathias thought he was. And then he turned to look at Mathias himself.

"Good news boy, good news."

"Gilbert! Hello." He had learned to control his rash tongue around the man.

"Fancy seeing you here, boy. Well, not really, because you followed me. Funny, but I always know these things. Always, boy."

"Right."

"And now we must be back, back boy, back to share the news."

Mathias didn't even get out his planned "What news?" before the Joker whipped him back to Nowhere.

…

They were all gathered around the beaten up table. The Brothers of Nowhere, Mathias noted, were all just a rag-tag group of nobodies. But they all had a role to fill.

Gilbert was their leader. He was crazy, maybe always was, or maybe the dark magic rotted his mind, but he took them in and gave them a place, even if it was Nowhere.

Tino was their healer. He was proficient enough in medicine and healing spells to be of aid.

Berwald was their warrior. That one spoke for itself.

Sometimes, Mathias was a fighter. But mostly, he was the talker. He could lighten the mood, or even darken it. Mostly, he got them out of situations, smooth talking shop owners while stealing food from their carts, and other such things.

Lukas was the sorcerer. He knew a lot of magic, but he wouldn't use Gilbert's dark magic. His magic was often the practical sort, anyway.

Emil was the brain of most operations. He seemed to know everything, and nobody ever questioned his strange wisdom.

And Matthew, well… Matthew had the special talent of going unnoticed. He seemed to lurk in the shadows in just the right way, he was quiet and passive, and he could easily sneak anywhere.

And this gang, while maybe not living the most righteous of lives, they weren't evil.

So, when Gilbert announced his "genius" plan, they all listened with open minds.

But no one ever expected what he proposed.

"It has been a busy seven years, don't you think. War, and marriage. There was that, yes there was. But even better, there have been some interesting developments there. I was so delighted to hear the news of the pittering patter of little baby feet in the Spades' Palace. A busy busy seven years, don't you agree?"

There was some chuckling. Matthew seemed agitated.

Gilbert continued. "I bet there was no talk of my pattering feet, yes? None at all. Remember how I was cast away from my very own, very royal family?"

Mathias quietly rolled his eyes. They'd all heard the story. Every day.

"They set me aside, without a glance. I was gone, dead to the world. Dead. Am I dead?"

He was losing it, even more than usual.

"So what if, what if another royal little precious baby was cast away? What if? Maybe it would serve as a lesson to them, maybe it wouldn't. I don't care. But what I do know is this: If I never got to have my life, why should this child?"

There were arguments presented immediately. Shouts filled the void they called home. The voices rose louder and louder until they heard Matthew's quiet voice, almost a whisper, began to speak.

"We could do it, though, we should take him. If we do, we'll have bargaining material with a palace. We could have food and gold for years and years."

It did make sense.

Then, with the idea that the boy would be used as no more than a bargain, they all agreed to plan an invasion.

But later, as everyone set to bed, Mathias, curious as ever, heard Matthew whispering to Gilbert.

"Of course, we could just kill the boy. That would be fun."

…

He lay in bed that night, awake. There was no erasing the thought of quiet, brooding Matthew planning the death of a child. That he was unwillingly now involved in.

The more Mathias thought about it, he realized that he had been to Spades before. On one of his first days in Nowhere, Gilbert had sent him out to see what he could do for the group.

He was nine years old, and Gilbert had pushed him out into a tall, imposing building, and told him to find out a secret.

And he looked everywhere, under pillows and rocks and in the woods, and then, behind tapestries and paintings.

It was then that he found the hidden spiral staircase, and it was there that he found Matthew. The boy, they were close in age, but he was so small as a child, never usually left Gilbert's side, so it was strange to see him here.

Except this Matthew didn't act like the Matthew he knew at all. He was loud, and clumsy, and he might have been a little dumb, because it took him a while to notice Mathias there at all.

And when he looked up, into Matthew-but-not-Matthew's eyes, he realized that he was very confused.

"What are you doing, Matthew?"

"Who're you? And my name is not Matthew."

Not Matthew smiled at Mathias, with all the smug-ness an eight year old could manage.

"It's Alfred."

When he finally got back to Nowhere, he told his secret to Gilbert:

Matthew had a brother.

END of PROLOGUE

A/n:

Hi! My name's Amanda, and welcome to the second installment of the Clockwork Cardverse AU, "Nowhere." This story is very much centered on both the Spades Palace and Nowhere, the Land of Jokers. This story will have many of the intense themes of Clockwork.

In the sense of time, this sequel takes place 5 years after the events of Clockwork, making Arthur 26, Alfred 25, and their son! Peter, 2 years old. So be prepared for some family fluff, and Arthur's (or maybe Alfred's POV? Both?) reflection on the past 5 years. And then some angst. Because I said so.

:) Please R&R. I'm totally motivated by reviews, and the seriously amazing amount of favs and reviews on Clockwork inspired me to continue it with a full sequel.

Manda, the still mediocre opera singer, bids you welcome to this journey.